


Making Angels in the Snow

by Stellophia



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Crack, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Gets A Hug, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Hugs, Ice Skating, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Is A Little Shit, Loki (Marvel) is Good With Kids, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark & Thor Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Nebula's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark has Adopted Everyone, Tony Stark is Good With Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28279377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stellophia/pseuds/Stellophia
Summary: [Written for @bifrostedflake as a part of @worstloki's Loki Secret Santa | prompt: ice-skating Loki]“You’re still not over me turning you into a baby emperor penguin last year, are you?” Loki questions, failing to suppress a snicker. Peter and Harley join in the snickering, as Morgan nods in enthusiastic approval. It had been her idea, after all.Thor looks away surreptitiously, likely remembering his own time as perhaps the world's smallest baby polar bear.“It wasn’t funny!” Tony exclaims, his cheeks blushing a soft pink that Loki is positive is only because of the cold weather, of course.“Please, you were adorable,” Pepper retorts, a wide grin on her face. Her expression clearly promises that Tony is never going to live that one down.“I second that statement,” adds Nebula, an amused smile even on her expression.Loki, of course, still has pictures and misses no chance of using them as blackmail.Or: the ice-skating-Loki prompt turned Loki-&-the-Stark-Family-Christmas-domestic-fluff fic you never asked for.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Nebula & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki & Nebula (Marvel), Loki & Peter Parker, Loki & Thor (Marvel), Loki & Tony Stark, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Thor
Comments: 17
Kudos: 128
Collections: Indescribably Delicious Fanfiction





	Making Angels in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BiFrostedFlake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiFrostedFlake/gifts).



> Alternate Title: _Loki!!! on Ice_
> 
> The actual Title is inspired by the song _Snow_ by Sleeping at Last.
> 
> This was originally supposed to be a 1-3K fic about Loki ice-skating with the rest of the Starkfam. Dunno how the prompt went out of hand or where the rest of it came from, but now it's a full-fledged 4.8K Christmas domestic fluff fic. 
> 
> In my defence, Morgan H. Stark is a feral bastard child who has never heard of an "outline", whatever that means.
> 
> Enjoy, I suppose?

“— Oki! ‘Oki’s here!”

Morgan Stark bursts out of the cabin door in a whirl of excitement as Loki kneels to pick her up, gently lifting her to his shoulder level. “Hello, Morgan,” Loki greets with a grin, booping her nose as she giggles, burying her face into the white furs of his green coat. 

“Aaand, we’re dead to her for the next three days,” Loki hears Tony comment dryly from the inside of the cabin, rolling his eyes. Loki sends him a triumphant smirk, mouthing _‘jealous?’_ at him. Tony, childishly, sticks out his tongue at him. Loki snorts.

“Hello and Merry Yuletide to you too, Tony,” Thor greets, entering the cabin from behind Loki, shutting the door from behind him. “Hello, Morgan. Are you well?”

The cabin is lit with red and green Christmas decorations, encasing it in a cosy, cheerful glow. He can hear one of the bots’ faint whirr alongside the sound of a vacuum cleaner from one of the rooms, and the languid chatter of the other occupants from another. The fragrance of freshly baked cookies is wafting from the kitchens, filling the air with sweetness. Its aura remains as merry and welcoming as ever, and it doesn’t fail to put a smile on Loki’s face.

As a prince of New Asgard and Jötunheim, he can barely visit them more than a few times a year, and yet this cabin, more than Asgard ever did, feels like _home_.

This is the fourth Yuletide he will spend with the Stark family since Tony named Loki Morgan’s godfather as a jest (the pun is _right there_ , and Stark may or may not have been drunk at the time). Loki, of course, took that jest as anything but, and in the four years since then, Loki has succeeded in becoming the absolute favourite person of all of Tony’s numerous children including the bots (yes, even _Nebula_ , even though she would rather take a dagger to the gut than admit it out loud). 

Loki takes immense pride in that fact. Especially because it annoys Tony to no end.

He gently places Morgan down, fixing the emerald green scarf around her neck before she scurries away to greet Thor, and stands before Tony, looking at him expectantly. 

Tony makes a show of sighing dramatically before he relents, enveloping Loki into an embrace, a warm smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, love you too, Lokes," Tony says, and Loki's own smile only grows wider.

If Loki notices how Tony doesn't have to stand on his toes to embrace him anymore because the slippers he is currently wearing have 3-inch heels, he withholds comment.

After which, of course, Thor stands there, looking at Tony and Loki expectantly.

Tony groans, "Et tu, Thor?" which is a sentiment Loki can get behind. Unfortunately for both of them, however, Thor levels them with one of his lethal puppy-dog eyes. A tactic which, of course, ends up with the three of them sharing a group hug, otherwise known as: Tony and Loki trying not to be crushed by Thor's massive arms for a full minute straight.

When Morgan, disappointed at being left out of a "group huggie", weasels her way into the embrace, nobody complains.

Oh well, hugs are nice. Loki will admit that.

The four of them are distracted by the sound of a camera click and soft giggles. To his right, Pepper Potts-Stark stands there with her phone in hand, a wide grin on her face. “You’re all just adorable,” she says, smile wide, to which Tony responds with a "you’re just jealous".

This commotion draws in a loud “Mr Loki and Mr Thor are here?” from the living room. On going inside, Loki is greeted by the sight of Peter sprawled on the couch beside Harley (who has burrowed himself in at least three layers of blankets), a Nintendo console in hand and a smile growing on his face. Nebula sits on his other side, a book in hand. “Hi, Mr Loki! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas to you too, Mr Thor!”

“Hello, young Peter, Harley!” Thor returns enthusiastically. "Nebula! It's been an age since we last met!"

Nebula is usually off in space with the rest of the Guardians, but Quill makes sure to visit Earth at least once every two years, giving Nebula the chance to spend time with the Stark family. They usually spend their time in the Avengers Compound in upstate New York, however; this is the first time Nebula is here at the new Stark residence. 

Greetings are exchanged, reunions had. Soon enough, Morgan announces it’s time for fun.

“Okay, kiddos, before all of you end up causing mayhem that inevitably ends up with my hair growing visibly greyer within moments, lemme remind you of a few ground rules,” Tony announces.

"Okay, first things first. No one is allowed to attempt to kill or maim each other, even by accident. Getting hypothermia is strictly illegal, especially for you, Harley, so take care of that.” Harley nods.

“Peter, experimental testing of your newly updated web fluids is to be done under lab conditions and not in the wild, so go keep the shooters back.” Peter blinks, caught off-guard, then blushes in embarrassment as he gets up to do so. “Harley, mechanical projectiles of any kind involving snow are not allowed; that’s cheating. Snowball fights are strictly hands-only.”

“Unfair,” he groans, pouting.

“Nebula, this is your first time in here, so lemme tell you that yes, there may be rabbits, foxes and other such animals in the vicinity, and no, you’re not allowed to hunt them down. Please don’t try.”

Nebula nods in acquiescence, her eyes conveying the stark opposite.

"Morgan, OG Capsicle's original shield is in the garage, leftmost closet, the one right next to the old Mark-XXXVI armour, it's a bit dusty but nothing more,” he tells his daughter, expression utterly innocent. “Please do _not_ attempt to take it sledding, hopefully under Loki's supervision. The rest of you, please do _not_ ensure to take several pictures and videos in the purely hypothetical scenario that Morgan takes it sledding and send them all to Rogers. Please do _not_." 

While Tony and the Captain are on amicable terms now — have been since their triumph in what the Midgardian media creatively dubbed the ‘Infinity War’ — Rogers never truly worked up the courage to ask for his shield back, and now that he has retired to settle down happily with Barnes, Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, has been given a new shield by the government. Which means the original one’s with Tony. 

And Tony, of course, never skips an opportunity for a bit of _fun_.

“Any questions?”

Thor raises a hand. 

Tony sighs, placing a hand on his temples. “No Thor, Gerald the Alpaca can still not be used as a war-horse.” 

Thor lowers his hand.

“And as for _you_ ,” he then points to Loki, huffing, “I’m expanding the Rulebook-of-things-Loki’s-not-allowed-to-attempt-on-Christmas,” he declares to the collective scowls of Morgan, Harley and Peter. Tony himself looks more amused than exasperated, because try as he might to be a Responsible Dad™, Loki knows for a fact that Tony loves Loki’s pranks like everybody else, even when he’s at the receiving end of them.

Loki, on his part, merely snorts. “You do know I think of them more as… guidelines, don’t you?” The unofficial rulebook started well over three years ago, when Loki, of course, decided that Yuletide was the perfect time for doubling down on his usual pranks and extending his sample size, and Tony decided that the usual amount of mischief was _already_ more than enough, _thank_ _you_. Ever year hereafter, of course, Loki has followed the rules to the letter by finding increasingly clever and evermore ostentatious ways to exploit its loopholes, not to mention coming up with newer, better ways of causing mayhem. 

“ _Ahem_. If we’re done with Pirates of the Caribbean references, I’d like to reiterate the newest rule, that is rule number… FRIDAY, what rule number is the last one?”

“It would be twenty-seven sir,” Tony’s AI replies, sounding faintly amused. 

Earlier rules include such things as: 

  1. A ban on twenty-feet tall enchanted snowmen (self-explanatory),
  2. Enchanted snowmen of any size (after Loki built one exactly twenty feet and one inch tall, of course),
  3. Enchanted snow in general (after Loki, of course, built a twenty feet and one-inch tall enchanted snow _woman,_ and promptly proceeded to devise self-correcting snowball projectiles that irrevocably struck Tony’s arse every single time),
  4. A rule against daggers, ice daggers or any other manner of weapons, ice or not (in which Tony, of course, failed to define the word weapon, since Loki demonstrated an uncanny ability to turn any object, regardless of how “harmless” it was considered, into one, and since “any object used with the intent to hurt another person” failed on grounds of Loki arguing that _of course,_ he had not _intended_ to use that spoon to stab Thor in the flank, _of course not_ ),
  5. A rather unnecessary one against Loki associating with mistletoe (a rule entirely unprompted on Loki’s part; apparently the myths were warning enough. Loki finds this one rather rude, to be completely honest), 



Among several others.

“Rule number twenty-seven, all right.” Tony continues, “A reminder, in case you forgot: no transforming anyone else into an animal, earthly or otherwise, real or otherwise. No wait, ‘animal’ is too vague, isn’t it? ‘Any creature from the Kingdom Animalia’ would exclude cryptids, alien animals, and such. You know what? No using transformation magic on anyone, period.”

“Rude,” mumbles Peter just as Harley grumbles, “Killjoy.”

“You’re still not over me turning you into a baby emperor penguin last year, are you?” Loki questions, failing to suppress a snicker. Peter and Harley join in the snickering, as Morgan nods in enthusiastic approval. It had been her idea, after all.

Thor looks away surreptitiously, likely remembering his own time as perhaps the world's smallest baby polar bear.

“It wasn’t funny!” Tony exclaims, his cheeks blushing a soft pink that Loki is _positive_ is only because of the cold weather, _of course_.

“Please, you were _adorable_ ,” Pepper retorts, a wide grin on her face. Her expression clearly promises that Tony is _never_ going to live that one down.

“I second that statement,” adds Nebula, an amused smile even on her expression.

Loki, of course, still has pictures and misses no chance of using them as blackmail.

“Aaaanyway,” Tony says loudly over their collective snickers, “turning yourself into reindeers and other assorted Christmas animals is allowed but cryptids, alien animals and Jotun ice-dragons are strictly prohibited.”

It is, like most of the other rules, quite riddled with loopholes and has a massive grey-area for Loki to operate in. It’s interesting, how many of them can easily be worked around, despite Tony usually being quite a master of words and hair-splitting himself. 

Loki has a theory that Tony deliberately allows his rules to be so, because as much as he grumbles about it every time, he doesn’t _really_ want the mischief and entertainment to stop, because try as he might to be a Strict and Responsible Dad™, he… simply isn’t. And Loki loves him all the more for it.

Loki shrugs and replies, “Certainly, except I do what I want.”

“Uh uh, sure, if you want to get grounded, that is.”

“You cannot ground me,” Loki declares. To be fair, he probably can; if Loki weren’t a thousand and fifty years old and already Morgan’s legal godfather, he is sure Stark would’ve signed the adoption papers a very long time ago. Hel, even now, Tony sometimes looks as if he is seriously considering it, the age gap and paperwork be damned. In human years, Loki is in his mid-twenties, anyway.

Not that Loki, given his previous track record of parental figures, would mind, honestly.

“You wanna tell that to Pepper, Reindeer Games?” Tony challenges, eyeing his wife in a discreet plea to back him up here. Pepper simply shrugs in a universal gesture of ‘don’t look at me; you’re on your own’.

“But it’s unfair!” Morgan declares, frowning in disapproval. “‘Oki’s an _adult_ , Daddy, you can’t get Mommy to _ground him_!”

Loki just shrugs innocently, biting back a massive grin on seeing his goddaughter defend him with such ferocity. “You wish to tell that to Morgan, _Daddy dearest_?”

“Rule number twenty-eight: Loki’s not allowed to call me Daddy,” Tony announces. 

Harley snorts loudly.

“Anyway,” Loki asks the group, "what manner of mischief shall we commence today?”

“Ice-skate!” Morgan exclaims excitedly. “Pretty _please_?” And how could he deny _those_ puppy-dog eyes? 

“Ice-skate, hmm? I don’t see why not,” he concedes, getting up from his seat. “Come along, everyone."

Within a few minutes, the children all gather their stuff. Tony digs out three pairs of skates — for himself, Pepper and Morgan, of course — from the storage, while Loki magics up a pair for everyone else. Very soon, they're at the door of the cabin, ready to begin for the lake, when Loki notices Nebula hesitate. 

He raises a curious eyebrow at her, asking her what's wrong.

“I’m… unused to snow,” Nebula admits. “Large amounts of precipitating water-ice were a rarity in — where I was born, although I do not remember much about that place. Neither did I get to experience snow… afterwards. Besides,” she adds, smiling bitterly, “the sensation is not particularly pleasing when half your body’s made of metal.”

“Both of those," Loki smiles, "can be remedied.” 

From his dimensional pocket, Loki takes out a fur coat he often uses when visiting Jotunheim. It’s an informal gift from Byliestr; he gifted one to Thor as well. Loki had never really needed it in either form, but he’s always appreciated the sentiment more than he can convey in words. The original is green, of course, but Loki puts a purple glamour over it as it materializes. It’s Nebula’s favourite colour, after all.

“It’s made from the furs of Jötnar foxes,” he tells her, “and laden with a dozen heating spells besides. If it’s the cold that unsettles you, be assured that you won’t feel a thing.”

“Thank you,” she says softly, taking the coat from Loki’s hands. A soft, hesitant smile tugs at her lips.

Loki returns the smile, patting her shoulder. “Now come along. It'll be fun.”

They make their way to the lake beside the cabin, which looks beautiful in all its wintry glory. Parts of its surface have frozen in a thin layer of frost, the branches of the trees around it trading their leaves for white sleeves, the snow atop them gleaming in the soft sunlight. Loki sets Morgan down gently beside the bench. Peter scurries forward to stand beside her.

“Are you going to turn blue, Mr Loki?” Peter asks him, an expression of awe and curiosity already dawning on his face. It warms Loki’s heart every time to see his Jotun form not only accepted but even _admired_ so readily by his family.

Loki smiles and kneels down beside the lake, touching the icy water.

Then takes a deep breath and lets the wintry cold wash over him. He feels it all: feels his skin shift to azure from its usual porcelain, the ice crawling up his arms. As his true colour crawls across his face, he feels the ice bring along with it the feeling of the crash of icy waves against a glacier, the smell of roasted salmon, the intricate crystals of a falling snowflake, the eerie shine of emeralds in the dark, the sparkle of sunlight falling on a white sheet of snow. No matter how many times he shapeshifts into it, the novelty never wears out; that’s always what his Jötun form feels like. 

It feels like coming home.

He hears a gasp of awe from beside them as the ice spreads out from his fingers onto the lake in intricate, glittering fractals, his magic crystallizing the surface of the lake as he feels his seiðr tugging out the heat out of trillions of molecules of water simultaneously, swiftly encasing it all in a thick layer of ice. When he is done, the lake shines a bright white with reflected sunlight, ready for all manner of mischief.

“Whoa,” Tony breathes beside him. 

“Blue ‘Oki! Blue ’Oki’s the best!” Morgan exclaims excitedly, little misty ghosts forming beneath her breaths as she puffs. Loki beams at her.

Loki tries not to remind himself of how he and Thor — virtually any child of Asgard, for that matter — would make the Jötnar the villainous monsters in their childhood role-playing games, how every other fictitious book would depict them as nought but brutish savages, how vehemently Loki’s true skin would be received among his people merely a decade ago.

He knows very well that none of Odin’s words about them ever held a grain of truth, and yet, even four years after New Asgard established diplomatic relations with Jötunhiem, every time someone reacts to his Jötun form positively, he can’t help but feel nearly overwhelmed by wonder and gratitude towards them. 

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Pepper questions, although she seems more awed than worried.

“It’s over three feet of solid ice spread evenly throughout the lake,” Loki informs her, running an azure blue hand over it to gauge its strength and thickness. “Our rink is safe enough for a dragon to skate over it.”

“If only you knew when we were both children. The pranks we could have played…” Thor reminisces. “‘Twas truly a missed opportunity, Brother, that you learned cryokinesis so late.” Loki wholeheartedly concurs. He can only imagine the look on Odin’s face on discovering several bizarre ice sculptures of himself all over Asgard, for _starters_.

Loki watches as Thor dons his own ice-skates, stepping on the rink confidently. He watches as Thor strides forward on the rink with grace and confidence— 

And lands flat on his face.

“I’ll just — ” Thor manages to get up, almost stumbling backwards twice, and carefully steps out of the rink, wiping away the nosebleed he’d gotten from the fall. “Harley, do you wish to build a snowman?”

“Aww, Anna’s given up already?” Tony snarks at Thor, then turns to Loki. “What about you, Elsa?”

Well, it’s not as if _he’s_ ever ice-skated before either.

While Old Asgard did see snow, its short winters were never cold enough for the waters to freeze thickly enough to make skating atop the ice feasible. And while it _is_ quite so in Norway, the idea’s just… never occurred to him before. Yet, as he steps atop the ice, he feels neither uncertainty nor wariness. It’s his first time, and yet, as he steps atop the frozen lake, he does so with the confidence of a century of practice, because he just… _knows_.

He marches forward two steps and begins to glide, leant forward slightly, chin held straight, knees bent and weight forward. It goes perfectly; he attempts a stroke and a sizzle, drawing an hourglass pattern atop the ice as he glides forward with grace. It's almost as if he knows how to because of some primal instinct, as if with his true Jötunn skin comes along an intimate, inborn knowledge of the ice, a friendship with it. Emboldened by his success, he attempts to turn around, then skate backwards. Then comes his attempt at a spin, and to his delight, executes it perfectly. Goes for a flip in the air, and lands with grace.

The motions come to him easily hereafter; after all, it’s not very different from the way he fights. Sleek and graceful as a swan, Loki closes his eyes and lets this instinct take over as he slides over the ice swiftly and swings around fluidly, relishing the adrenaline of this elegant dance. And yet, it’s different, for it feels… he feels each fractal of the ice beneath his feet, every molecule of ice around him humming along to the rhythm of his dance and his magic. It’s as if the frost and he are one, and it feels… enthralling.

A “Woah, Elsa, didn’t know you could figure skate,” brings his attention back to everyone else. Tony and Pepper are openly gaping at him, Peter and Morgan clapping, and Harley recording everything on his phone. Even Nebula’s expression, sitting on the bench by the frozen lake, is one of awe. Thor, nosebleed now under control, just looks jealous.

Loki bows dramatically. “Neither did I, truthfully,” he admits, however, and feels his cobalt blue cheeks brighten a vivid purple.

Flustered and encouraged by their applause, Loki continues. He skates away from the rest of his family towards the middle of the large lake, establishing a secure distance from them, and closes his eyes. He lets his Jötun instincts take over, feeling the thin layer of frosty water and ice beneath his blades as he glides carelessly with ease, spinning in the air confidently. He then, emboldened, attempts this time to flip in the air twice, then thrice. He stumbles once, but uses his magic to prevent a fall; hereafter, however, it comes to him swimmingly, seamlessly, and he begins to combine the steps of his dance. He feels the exhilarating pulse of adrenaline coursing through his veins and he feels the soft brush of the cool breeze against his cheeks and he feels the flow of his long hair as he moves swiftly through the air. He feels the trillions and trillions of vibrations in the ice crystals beneath, the frost humming along with his Jötunn magic. It feels… freeing. 

It is making him hungry, though. 

Speaking of which, Thor leaves with Nebula sometime later to prepare for lunch and the night’s feast, Julebord. Many are often shocked to hear this, especially those who are familiar with the legendary ex-enmity of Thor and the toaster, but Thor is actually… a great cook. Countless adventures across the realms have certainly taught the both of them preparing and cooking a large variety of plants and animals, but Thor had actually taken interest in the art, and Frigga, to Odin’s extreme consternation, had encouraged it. As a result, Thor can prepare anything from fruitcakes to pork roast, which actually taste… quite good. His speciality, though, is desserts — specifically cold desserts — even though Thor doesn’t really have much of a sweet tooth, unlike his brother. Loki has a hypothesis that it is so because of _Loki’s_ tastes and not Thor’s, but all evidence remains inconclusive.

Nebula, while also taught to cook by sheer necessity and never given the luxury of learning it as a hobby or a skill beyond what was deemed strictly necessary, is nothing if not a quick and adaptable learner, and a practical one with great attention and memory for detail besides. As it is, in her five years of adventuring across the galaxy with the Guardians, she’s picked up quite a few Kree recipes, some from the outer Nova colonies, and even one from Alfheim that Loki is familiar with. And while she does not know of any winter solstice traditions from her home planet, Loki has no doubts she can whip up anything from anywhere in the galaxy given just a piece of paper with instructions.

To summarize, lunch and dinner are going to be a treat.

Loki’s reverie about food is broken by a gentle tug at his coat, followed by a soft, “‘Oki? Please teach me?”

"Hey!" Tony protests from a few metres away. “ _I’m_ already teaching you, Squirt!”

“But ‘Oki can dance," Morgan counters, making an excellent argument. "Can you dance like ‘Oki?”

“But — _I’m_ the one you love 3000!”

“Well, I love ‘Oki 6000,” she states as a matter of fact.

Tony can't argue with _that_ and he knows it. 

Loki beams at his goddaughter proudly; not even five yet already taking after Loki's genius. He gladly accepts Morgan's request and crouches down to her level, patting her cheek softly and telling her that she'll learn in no time: she's already doing so well! It's barely her first time atop an ice-skating rink, and she has already managed to skate to him perfectly! 

Tony, meanwhile, inspired by (and perhaps a little jealous of) Loki’s little dance, suggests that he and Pepper skate together, to which she agrees.

Loki _definitely_ isn’t going to use this as an opportunity for a little fun.

Only a few minutes go by before Morgan's ice-skating teaching session is disrupted by a:

“I know you’re fucking with my ice skates, Smurfette!” Loki hears Tony yell at him. “Stop fucking with my ice skates!”

Loki turns around in a fluid motion to see an angry Tony trying his best to pull himself up from where he's slipped ( _completely_ on accident, of course), Pepper beside him, giggling and looking concerned at the same time.

“Lies and slander, Tony. Whyever would I do that?” Loki replies with the most innocent of smiles as he gracefully glides towards his fallen form. “I haven’t laid a single enchantment on those skates of yours, I’m merely enchanting the ice beneath.”

“Isn’t that against the rules?” Tony questions as he pulls himself up.

“You banned enchanted _snow_ , Tony, not enchanted _ice_. I’m sure you are perfectly aware of the difference.”

Tony is visibly biting back a large grin when he says, “You’re seriously going to make me ban all magic on Christmas, aren’t you.”

A “Hey!” is all the warning Tony gets before he is hit by a snowball on the head, stumbling backwards and landing on the cold, hard ice flat on his arse, again. “Don’t you _dare_!” Harley, standing just outside the rink, waving a massive snowball in his hand threateningly, calls out.

Because Loki, you see, now has an army no amount of Hulks can stand against, let alone a tiny little Genius, Billionaire, Dad, Philanthropist.

“No you won’t,” Loki says, stretching out a hand to him as he bites back laughter.

“No I won’t,” Tony agrees amusedly as he takes Loki’s hand to pull himself up, before bursting out laughing at his own ridiculousness. 

Later that day, Peter, Harley, and Nebula will probably get into a snowball fight which will escalate into a war complete with snow-fortresses even with Loki’s sworn non-intervention. Rhodey would soon arrive, not missing an opportunity for a dramatic entrance with his War Machine armour, but also consistently proving to be the only other person among them besides Pepper to have even a singular brain cell. Loki will likely be granted an exception from the ‘no enchanted snow’ rule to give Morgan the opportunity to sled on Captain America’s shield safely, and Loki will likely enchant Tony’s Iron Man armour to appear blue, white and red to everyone except himself and capture it on camera as a nice addition to Morgan’s footage. Gerald the Alpaca will probably attempt to eat at least one person’s clothing, and Thor will probably get jealous of Morgan for being allowed to ride on his back.

Later that day, Loki will probably lower his magical shields and put up a minor display of magic, so Stephen can use it as an excuse to portal himself here and get invited to stay over for lunch. Although Loki was cleared of any charges for invading New York almost immediately after the Avengers defeated the Mad Titan with Loki's crucial assistance five years ago, Stephen and his Sanctum still insist on keeping him on… probation. Loki has interacted with the so-called Sorcerer Supreme enough times to know that it's his way of saying that he's a massive fan of Loki's abilities and would like to see them up-close as many times as possible. Loki will admit that although Stephen lacks experience and expertise, he does have _potential_ , and he might _consider_ teaching him a few things if he ever works up the courage to ask.

Later that day, they will all gather around the dinner table to a hearty Christmas and/or Julebord feast. Thor and Loki will probably tell Morgan the story of Yuletide’s origins, how Odin jólfaðr used to take both of them to a wild hunt across the realms on the days of Yule. Loki will probably laugh away at least one question about Sleipnir, maybe even tell the true tale of Thor’s marriage with Thyrim to his infinite embarrassment. Harley and Peter will regale them with their experiences at MIT, Rhodey would reply with amusing stories of his own youth at the institute (most of them, of course, comprising of his and Tony's slightly unhinged antics), and Nebula will share her amused exasperation at Quill and the Guardians’ ridiculous adventures. Tony will supply them with an endless barrage of snarky remarks, and get one-upped by Rhodey, Pepper and Loki. Morgan will cheerfully share with them the newest science facts she has learned and enamour them all with her adorable shenanigans. Thor, despite everything, will somehow still manage to overeat and feel mildly nauseous in the morning.

Right now, however, Loki watches his found family's ridiculous yet heartwarming antics atop the makeshift ice rink, realizes how much everything has _changed_ in the last few years, and smiles contentedly. 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so,
> 
> I apologize to [@bifrostedflake](https://bifrostedflake.tumblr.com/%22) for taking the prompt and going way too overboard with it (and it was probably also supposed to be an art prompt and not a fic prompt too, wasn't it? I can't draw shit), but I really hope you like it! 
> 
> I was originally going with 'Loki and Verity making gingerbread cookies' but realized I'd have to reread Agent of Asgard for that, and that I have neither the time nor the emotional strength for rereading AoA. The rest of y'all: if you haven't read Agent of Asgard, do it NOW. REALLY.
> 
> I've used so many of [@worstloki's](https://worstloki.tumblr.com/) headcanons they may as well be the co-author (see: Loki being Morgan's godfather, the penguin joke, Loki becoming the Starkfam's favourite, and more, because I've lost count). 
> 
> Special thanks to my wonderful beta [@hydrophius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hydrophius/pseuds/Hydrophius) again! Go show them some love!
> 
> Writing Jötunn Loki fluff? An Experience™. 10/10 would recommend.
> 
> Now I need somebody to draw Jötun Loki ice-skating as long-haired Victor Nikiforov. Please.
> 
> UPDATE: Tumblr user [@andthis-giveslifetothee](https://andthis-giveslifetothee.tumblr.com/) has drawn me some AMAZING art!!! [Go check it out!!](https://andthis-giveslifetothee.tumblr.com/post/638480656021716992/making-angels-in-the-snow-stellophia-marvel)
> 
> Comments and constructive criticism is more than welcome!! :D
> 
> Happy holidays/ merry yuletide/ merry Christmas/ happy December 25th to everyone!


End file.
